Averyt v. Grande, Inc.
Supreme Court of Texas
717 S.W.2d 891 (Tex. 1986)
Grande (defendant) owned half of the mineral interest in a tract and conveyed the surface and its mineral interest to the Fogelmans, while reserving "an undivided 1/4th royalty" covering minerals from "the land described above." The Fogelmans later conveyed the land to Averyt (plaintiff), who sued to determine how much of the mineral estate Grande's reservation actually covered -- one-fourth of the whole estate, or one-fourth of just Grande's half. The trial court and court of appeals both sided with Grande, and Averyt appealed.
Whether a fractional mineral reservation in a general warranty deed reserves a fraction of the entire mineral estate, even when the grantor owns only a fractional interest in that estate.